Who is in the receiving line please???

Traditionally the recieving line starts with the brides parents, then the bride and groom, and then the grooms parents. Any honor attendants and bridesmaids you wish to include would stand after the grooms parents.

There really is no "supposed to" for this. I have seen receiving lines with the parents, best man, and maid of honor. I have also seen the entire bridal party in the receiving line. We are doing me and my FH, his parents and my parents only.

You have to think about how much room you will have where you plan to do it. Also, you have to think about time. Do you have a large wedding party that would take forever to get through? Do you have a very large guest list that would also take a lot of time? Also, will most of the guests know most of the bridal party, or will you be doing a lot of introducing? things to think about...but in the end, it is your choice.

Future.mrs.w is right...you can pretty much do it however you want. You also don't necessarily need one depending on your wedding. My FH and I are doing pictures prior to the ceremony, so we'll be at the cocktail hour and aren't doing a receiving line.

Regardless of how you set up your receiving line, the mother of the bride is always first. A receiveing line is not recommended for weddings with 100+ guests because it takes too long for your guests to go through it

Old school receiving lines has everyone in the bridal party plus the parents of the bride and groom....this dates back to the time when our parents paid for the weddings and half the guests were their friends, not yours.

A more modern approach is the bride and groom only. Although they can feel like a burden to do, most guests expect one, especially the older set. They want to tell you how beautiful you look in your dress, how lucky your groom is, how handsome he looks all dressed up and comment on the lovely ceremony you just had...and who among us can't make a little time to hear nothing but wonderful things said to us?

If the couple is positioned correctly a receiving line doesn't have to take time away from your event. Consider standing in an area that lends itself to the natural flow of foot traffic from the ceremony site to the cocktail area, they pass by shake hands offer kisses and quickly move off to the bar/food...take a minute to greet each guest you won't be sorry!

No matter the size of your wedding, if you choose not to have a receiving line, make SURE you can find time to talk to EACH guest.

Because this is pretty hard to do, a receiving line is almost always expected...and a good idea.

You can have who ever you want in your recieving line! I would how ever have your parents next to you incase you forget any names of realitives...I know I will!!

There is definately an order to the receiving line. Here are some examples:

The Brides mother is first, bride's dad, next, bride, groom, groom's mother, groom's father

OR

Bride's mother, bride's father, bride, groom, groom's mother, groom's father, maid of honor, best man

If the groom's parents do not want to me in the line, they don't have to be. You can inclue the entire bridal party but I don't recommend it. Just remember, the more people you have in your receiving line, the longer it takes for the guests to get through, then you still have your formal pictures afterward.

I would be happy to give you a free consultation to go over details such as this. Charlene Libertini